Popular British bakery Greggs has come under fire after replacing baby Jesus with a sausage roll in a picture promoting its new advent calendar. The chain was forced to apologize after the stunt got a rise out of social media.
The picture promoting Greggs’ new £24 (US$ 31) advent calendar features a nativity scene where the Three Wise men are gathered around a pork bake in the place of the Messiah. Not very kosher, right?
Howay, in a manger? Religious sacrilege or flaky fun?
An advert by the Newcastle bakery chain #Greggs has been labelled disrespectful for replacing the baby Jesus with a half eaten sausage roll.
Greggs say they never intended to cause any offence. pic.twitter.com/MqpbyE6sCl
— Anthony Day (@mranthonyday) November 15, 2017
People flocked to Twitter to accuse the chain of being wholly inappropriate. Let’s face it, giving Jesus, who was Jewish, a pork understudy was never going to go down well.
Out of interest do you think the people at Greggs understand that Jesus was Jewish and serving up a pork sausage roll in the manger is unbelievably inappropriate?
— Beth Rosenberg (@bethvaughan15) November 13, 2017
One user said they found the move utterly “disrespectful.”
Personally I find this very disrespectful. I’m guessing they lack creativity so someone’s brainy idea 💡 was this insult. I pray Gregg’s feels the pinch. Never stepping a foot there again. Such blander
— innie87 (@winifred_wadie) November 15, 2017
Another tweeter offered their pitch for Easter:
Another questioned what Greggs will come up with for Eid, one of Islam’s biggest festivals.
Others pointed out that spelling the name of Jesus backwards could offer a clue:
Tbf if you say Jesus backwards it sounds like Sausage! That clears them surely??
— Brandon Horan (@brandon_r_horan) November 15, 2017
Others stood by their religion…
Greggs sausage rolls have done more good in my life than Jesus ever has.
— El H.D.H. (@El_HDH) November 15, 2017
Some, however, accused critics of overreacting:
Greggs having to apologise for replacing big J with a sausage roll
Stop the world, I wanna get off. it’s too fucking soft for my liking
— Michael Craig (@BabaORiley71) November 15, 2017
Greggs apologized in a statement, saying: “We’re really sorry to have caused any offence, this was never our intention.”
The UK Evangelical Alliance told Newsbeat that although it is “not too outraged” about Greggs’ choice for promotion, it says a lot about how Christmas is being exploited by businesses to sell products.
“Every year some company creates a Christmas controversy for commercial gain. It seems to get earlier each year,” said spokesman Daniel Webster.
